 |
| Rob's Soapbox | ||
|
Congratulations!
You have finally landed on the one page on this entire site (and on the entire internet for that matter) that is purely without bullshit... my soapbox page. There are a lot of times during our show that, whether it's because of time constraints and other obligations, I don't always get to address some issues that I feel don't get the attention they deserve. There are even more times when I just don't feel like waiting until the show the next day to get some things off my chest. Thus, I have started the "Rob's Soapbox" page. If you have clicked on this page looking for someone to coddle your fragile sense of self-esteem, or tell you what you want to hear or to reinforce your outdated world view, then exit this page right now and go somewhere else. If you are in search of the last forum for reason and common sense left in the world, then sit back, relax, and enjoy. I make only one promise with this soapbox page... if you read long enough and often enough, you will eventually be offended. So here's my latest soapbox. Listen up, 'cause you just might learn something... |
||
|
||
January 29th, 2007 "GREY'S ANATOMY" SUCKS I liked "ER" the first time I saw it, which, as Arnie has pointed out, was actually the first time I saw "St. Elsewhere." I have no problem with people re-inventing the wheel, but I do have a problem with dishonesty. "Grey's Anatomy," is not only not innovative, new, creative, or ground-breaking, it isn't even a very good show. Yet, alas, the American public continues to eat it up like candy, making it the highest rated show on TV week after week. Why would I waste an entire column on such a topic? Well, I could give you the lame topical explanation, falling back on the fact that the show has been in the news a lot lately because of the off-screen antics of Isaiah Washington using the word "faggot," and so on, but that would be a lie. I actually wrote most of this column over the holiday break and publishing it now is simply opportunistic on my part. The real motivation on my part for writing about Grey's Anatomy is that Italy believes as a nation that a society can be judged by how it treats its pets. We should aspire to such heights because in modern America, you can judge our society by the TV shows we watch. Sad, but true. While America has been obsessed with TV since its inception, it wasn't until late in the 20th century that pretty much every household in the country had at least 1 television set. Thus, we can watch the mood and tenor of a country now by its living rooms; In the 1990's, when America's economy was booming and we weren't at war, great comedies like Seinfeld and Cheers ruled the ratings as we all laughed and relaxed our way to the banks. In America, 2007, we are a shallow, scared, unfunny nation. The most watched TV shows each week are and will be "Desperate Housewives," a show about cheating spouses and the hilarity that comes with infidelity; "CSI," a show about death and absurdly attractive detectives; "American Idol," a show not about dreams coming true, as they would like to have us believe, but rather about peoples' dreams being crushed; and "Grey's Anatomy," a show that sucks. Allow me to explain:
THE SHOW IS MAKING PEOPLE DUMBER: Believe it or not, I did a little research for this Soapbox. A simple Google search of "why Grey's Anatomy sucks," produced a few blogs, including my favorite... click here On this site those who defend the show actually use the phrase over and over again; "who cares if it's not realistic?" WHO CARES? Thank you for at least confirming my greatest fears of this nation's ignorance. First of all, to defend something by acknowledging how absurdly unrealistic it is, is hardly a stalwart defense. Secondly, this defense only works if you're talking about a show that is meant to be absurd and/or suspend peoples' disbeliefs. Sitcoms of any kind are meant to be ridiculous at times. All sci-fi is based in fantasy and therefore is not meant to be realistic, despite some shows' attempts to make them as real as is possible. A show that is based in a hospital, in America, in 2007, needs to be realistic. They are not a hospital that operates on space aliens or is made up of doctors who transported back in time from the 26th century. Their hospital is not based on Jupiter, nor does it exist in a parallel universe, nor is Grey a robot. They are, in premise, real people operating in a real profession in a real place doing real things. Arguing that the show does not need to be realistic argues the show's irrelevance.
|
||